New research shows a surprising connection between lifestyle and memory—at all ages

For years, we’ve known that a healthy lifestyle can stave off cognitive decline. Now, research shows, it’s time for people to start listening up—even the young. UCLA researchers and the Gallup organization teamed up to survey over 18,000 Americans aged 18-99 on their lifestyle behaviors and memory complaints. They found that while older people had more memory problems, they also worked harder to keep their brains sharp with diet and exercise. Younger participants didn’t live as healthfully, and their brains didn’t thank them for it.

The poll, published in the June 2013 issue of International Psychogeriatrics, found that while fewer younger people (ages 18-39) had memory complaints than older generations did, numbers were still much higher than expected at 14%. Gary Smalls, MD, lead author of the study and co-author of The Alzheimer’s Prevention Diet, thinks the results might be explained by increased stress among young people, or the shorter attention span we all suffer at the hands of the constant temptations of technology.

Another likely factor? The younger participants’ lifestyles, which they reported as less healthy than middle-aged and older participants. They smoked more than older people, and were less likely to have eaten at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables in the last week, eat healthily all day the day before, or exercise regularly. For those who had healthy habits, their hard work paid off: those who engaged in one of the healthy behaviors surveyed were 21% less likely to have memory problems. Two healthy behaviors led to a 45% memory boost, and all four healthy behaviors meant you were 111% less likely to be grasping for names at a party.

Older people were less likely to smoke and more likely to eat well and exercise. Dr. Small, who is also the director of the UCLA Longevity Center, says a few factors could be at work here: “If you’re older and you live an unhealthy lifestyle, your lifespan is simply shorter,” he says. “In a nationally representative sample like this, the older you get, the higher proportion of healthy people remain.” He also says when you’re younger, unhealthy choices have fewer immediate consequences. A hangover is over in a day, but when you’re over 60 and your doctor tells you to eat better or risk a heart attack, the stakes are much higher to listen.

Does that mean if you’re young, you can keep eating chips on the couch for the next 40 years? Umm…no. More research needs to be done into the connection between lifestyle and memory, but Dr. Small thinks this could mean an unhealthy lifestyle at any age could mean memory problems that persist into later years, and that healthy lifestyle behaviors could mean a better memory not just later on, but right now.